'Batman v. Superman' filming takes to Detroit's streets

Aug. 7, 2014
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Filming for the superhero movie "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" is spilling out onto the streets of Detroit. Most Holy Trinity Church behind the smashed bus, is but one of the scenes shot in the Corktown area on Aug. 6, 2014. / Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press

by Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press

A workman covering a building's exterior plaque with what appeared to be white cardboard.

Local TV trucks just, you know, hanging around nearby.

Clues abound that filming for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is coming soon to a downtown Detroit street near you. Like, this week soon.

The eyes of the global cinematic and comic book worlds are on the biggest movie production ever to hit Michigan. It's projected to spend roughly $131 million during its stay.

Batman v. Superman began production in metro Detroit about two months ago and mostly has been ensconced inside the tightly sealed confines of Michigan Motion Picture Studios in Pontiac.

The trail of hints that shooting is brewing included accumulating traffic cones, extra security guards, a parking lot closed by police orders, and so on.

Indications are that parts of downtown will be the zone of interest starting Thursday and running through the weekend. Gossip on the ground from outsiders is that car chases will be happening.

But those actually in the know aren't talking to the media. The production is on a strict information lockdown, as is usual for cinematic superhero projects.

And given the large swath of real estate involved, passersby likely won't be able to see that much.

But still, it's pretty exciting, right? Reports of shooting on Monday in Corktown produced a flurry of photos and videos online and - gasp! - sightings of Ben Affleck, who plays Batman/Bruce Wayne.

A lot in Corktown on Wednesday resembled the Metropolis municipal parking headquarters, with cop cars, fire trucks and EMS vehicles bearing the label of Superman's city. Further down the street, a security guard kept gawkers away from a pile of rubble and a smashed bus.

"It's kind of cool," said Benjamin Kozicki of Bay City, Michigan, who was picking up a friend at the Greyhound bus station nearby and had no idea he'd be bumping into Metropolis property. "I actually might take a picture and put it on Facebook. I like bragging about Detroit to my friends."

Downtown offices and businesses are making adjustments for the filming.

A parking lot opposite the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse had signs Wednesday saying it was closed by police order. It contained a few trucks and about five giant wind fans.

At PenzDetroiT, owner Alex Lebarre said his fine pens and business case store is just outside the closed filming zone. He predicted some workers inside the closed streets might decide to take Thursday or Friday off.

"It's sort of like fireworks night," he said. "Some people don't like the hassle, even if it's just parking a block farther away."

Lebarre, who experienced filming on 2005's The Island and 2011's Transformers: Dark of the Moon, said he was contacted by location scouts for the current filming about seven months ago, then again a month ago.

"But they won't tell you what the movie is, which is hilarious. I said, 'It will take me two minutes to find it on the Internet,' which it did," he said.

On Friday, Variety reported that Warner Bros. is moving the opening of Batman v. Superman from May 6, 2016, to March 25, 2016. That means it won't be going up against Captain America 3.